I've heard that excuse before, Letters pays for the forum:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
It's about £10 a year isn't, I'm sure the other 2 can muster that between them :lol:
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I've heard that excuse before, Letters pays for the forum:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
It's about £10 a year isn't, I'm sure the other 2 can muster that between them :lol:
No it isn’t. There are hosting costs as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dumbledore
It isn’t a fortune, but it isn’t fuck all cost either.
I don’t see eye to eye with Letters on a lot of things, but he is a genuinely nice guy and whatever the cost, if he were a vindictive twat, he could just shut the whole thing down.
The mixture of people we have here, albeit small, clearly must like something about this place. Whether it be to vent, kill a few minutes or just have a bit of banter.
Of the Arsenal 3 or 4 Arsenal forums I used to regularly post, this is the only place I bother with.
Don't think anyone is doubting whether GW has a use, as it clearly does. But I don't care whether he's a nice guy, if he acts like a twat on here he'll get treated like one :good:Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall Quinn
This place doesn't even need that many mods. He can easily stand down and you + Maccy take the reigns moving forward.
Anyways, it seems Spurs are a better team or at least a better managed team than us. But when all was said and done, when we were top dogs we won things, quite a lot of Cups and Leagues.
All Spurs can point to is a couple of years out of the last quarter of a century being slightly higher in the league table.
Enjoy your moment in the sun.
You seem to have forgotten the Ricky Villa goal. And how easily you have forgotten Chas and Dave.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall Quinn
Maccy and I can’t even remember our passwords.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dumbledore
You clearly don’t like him, but at least argue the fucking toss. At least that can be entertaining. Just coming out with the Frank Grimesesq schtick and name calling is a bit dull.
So Letters has his own Frank Grimes.
Another thing he has in common with Wenger.
I PM'd them to you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall Quinn
You're welcome.
We must not forget also season 2 of Putting On The Pressure.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
Will there be a season 3?
We do not comment on speculation.
I'm quite tempted to change his name to "Grimey" and give him a Frank Grimes Avatar. :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Master Splinter
Better manager, I don't think they have a better squad. And yeah, for all our troubles we've won a few FA Cups of late while they're about to retain their "Wow, we finished above Arsenal" trophy and have little else to show for their moment. They had a genuine chance to win the title a couple of years ago and they balled that up, another chance is unlikely to present itself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall Quinn
'61, Never Again.
I just hope they finish potless again and Kane's head is turned by one of the big guns in Europe. Once the one man team has lost their one man they won't be all that.
Fascist :thumbsdown:Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
They’ll still be good because they have a good manager. But they’ll never be good enough.
I don’t think their full backs are especially great. Trippier and Davies. I don’t even rate Monreal but I prefer him and Bellerin to them
I don’t think Sanchez is that marvellous a defender either
Eriksen is like Ozil they are either brilliant or they are anonymous
Give Letters a break. These are very trying times for him. Can you imagine what would happen to him if Wenger gets sacked at the end of this season.? I hope we have an intervention task force on standby.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dumbledore
:faint:Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
Don't worry guys, Geoff says it's alright cause Wenger still cares :lol:
In previous years Lacazette would have scored, Arsenal fans would have gone home happy and everything would have been great, even though we were outplayed, should have been about 3 or 4 nil down and a point wouldn't have been good enough, unfortunately for him after years his lady luck no longer seems to be coming to his rescue, we finally seem to be getting the results we deserve for our performances.
I was hopeful that with the personnel we had now, we'd use logic and revert back to counter attacking, it would suit Lacazette, Aubameyang and Ozil perfectly and we'd probably noot only be exciting to watch but would be very effective, then I remembered Wenger was in charge and that it will never happen.
5 points off worse than last year after 27 games :lol:
No decline :lol:
Knee jerk reaction. Wait until the end of the season to judge.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dumbledore
The interesting stat I wasn’t aware of is that apparently this is our longest run without a clean sheet in the league in sixteen years
In fact that particular run went on for 11 games, although not really same circumstance as even though we weren’t keeping clean sheets we were getting points. 6 wins 4 draws 1 defeat (conceding 15 goals in those 11 games compared to the 16 in 9 we have conceded and scoring 21 to our 20 which points to a more even distribution in goals scored and conceded)
And at the end of that run we won 13 league games in a row and won the title
In comparison to the 05/06 season which was without doubt the worst we have ever been away from home under Wenger, we are still a point better off that we were then after 14 games
Though our goal difference was marginally better. Negative 5 rather than Negative 7 :haha:
Cech's been waiting for his 200th clean sheet for about 9 games now :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by HCZ
I've also heard he's let in 25% of his career goals at Arsenal :lol:
Forward line was non existent yesterday as well, I know some point as Ozil but the same criticism can be levelled at Mkhitaryan from his Man U days, fine when it's all going well but in adversity is nowhere to be seen.
It's early days in his career of course, but this was an issue at Man U, was great against a poor Everton side, but today when it really mattered didn't do anything.
Ozil and Mkhitaryan might summer from the same issue and with no defence it's a major problem for us. Risky strategy signing a player the team need to carry when it gets tough, as much as I love Ozil the same argument can be levelled at him.
As for the season, no CL this season so no excuses about poor performances after those games, most teams when they drop out and aren't in the CL perform better when the following season without that distraction, we've got worse, quite an achievement.
Is that really the reason or is it because Wenger is no longer flavour of the day and the team are now dropping down because he's neglected his job and performed poorly?Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
I mentioned it before but I find it ironic, because when Wenger was considered gods gift to football to Arsenal fans, those who questioned him were pretty much in the situation you are in now, but if anything it was worth as people use to pick on your posts and gang up, never bothered me personally, I and many other stuck around and continued to stick to their guns, we didn't decide now that people don't agree with us anymore we'll move on.
Wenger switching Mkhitaryan from the right to the left for this game maybe a factor. Also, Ramsey wasn't playing so even he was playing on the right would anyone be in the box when he crossed?Quote:
Originally Posted by Özim
Too early to judge if he's going to be a flop but both Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang were pretty shite. They all were shit. But it's clear that we can't depend on signings to change things around for this club.
I'm not blaming the strikers or Ozil or Mkhitaryan, I'm not blaming any of the players any more because it doesn't matter what players we put out, we see the same result over and over and over again. When our opponents allow Wenger to play his pitter-patter bullshit bore ball our technical players make the old goat look good. But when the opponents aren't accommodating, all the eye of the needle, 200 passes to get to goal shit doesn't stand a chance of success and Wenger is entirely clueless as to how to change things, so he never does.Quote:
Originally Posted by Özim
His two tricks which pass as Plan B are to bring defenders on to replace forwards when we are leading (thus breaking up our play and putting the pressure on us because we can't defend to save our lives), or lobbing on every attacker he has an hoping for the best when we need to grab a goal back. A monkey could come up with similar childish plans, why do we need to pay somebody 10 million quid to do what a 5 year old who plays FIFA could do?
He's the only manager I can think of who could fail to get a performance out of a striker like Lacazette and then repeat the astonishing act by getting nothing form Aubameyang. He's got TWO Ozil's now, and can't get anything from either.
And he thought we were dominating and should have had the game won in the first half, btw. That's how delusional he is. So he can't even see there's a problem. That's the worst part. That's why he'll happily roll Xhaka and Elneny out again and expect some sort of result from that insanity.
It's sounds like the worst kind of bullshit when an armchair fan starts telling a 1,000 game manager how things should be done, and in most cases it's just that - bullshit. But in Wenger's case it's perfectly legitimate. Obviously the guy has had some sort of mental issue but has somehow managed to hang on to his job for a decade without having the forst clue what's going on. His reputation has carried him through the farce - like Peter Sellars in Being There, ever see that film? Where everyone up to the president is fooled into thinking a retarded gardener is a guru?
Well Wenger has been mistaken by almost everyone as a competent football manager. All the evidence says otherwise, but that myth surrounding him has prevented anyone from speaking the truth.
He's so out of his depth it would be comical, if we weren't the fans on the receiving end. It must be fucking hilarious for fans of other clubs to watch. An old dinosaur mumbling away - don't pass it to the fast guy, pass it short into congested space, and if they press, pass it to the man under most pressure, and keep doing that for the whole match! Pure genius. He must be a guru. Surely? Because the alternative would be horrifying.
And is.
Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang have already shown enough of what's possible with them. Aubameyang's pace is a gift that no other manager would pass up. And Mkhitaryan's ability on the ball when under pressure would have to be a big bonus for any sane coach.Quote:
Originally Posted by Delusions of Grandeur
But Wenger has quickly found a way to integrate them into his fucked up spastic non-system. He said as much when they signed, he said they were the types of player who could play the Arsenal way. Poor bastards.
This is a manager who can't muster a shot on target from a squad containing Aubameyang, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Lacazette, Wilshere. This is a manager who signs Kolasinac, sees him play well and then benches him. This is a pratt who takes a 50 mill striker and systematically shatters his confidence, then has the fucking nerve to blame him for not securing a draw that would be daylight robbery.
What a hateful shit this bloke Wenger is. Selfish cunt. Dragging everything down to his pathetic, cowardly, selfish vision of what he thinks football should be. One long bore from start to finish, and the never changing march of mediocrity.
It WAS a joke he's still here. Now I don't know what it is. Some sort of punishment, or torture, or karmic retribution for something we collectively did in the past.
Quote:
The last time Wenger made a dent in a top 6 side away was 17 games ago against Manchester City. In our last 26 away games, we’ve only taken 26 points! Quite appalling really.
Quote:
You can shuffle the furniture. You can buy new furniture. You can sell the old furniture to make the new furniture look nice. None of it matters. If the furniture is on the Titanic, and the ship has hit an Wenger shaped iceberg, everything is going to spoil regardless.
https://le-grove.co.uk/2018/02/11/we...terminate-him/Quote:
Arsenal are deck shuffling. We have great data folk, but a manager not really interested in what it has to say. We have capable coaches, but there’s only one man empowered to make decisions. We have access to the best thinkers in the game, but one man runs the show and he is the most immovable bottleneck in world football. Arsenal FC is the greatest indulgence bestowed upon single paid employee in history. We are Arsene FC.
It was a one off game. Stop overreacting.
I wasn't blaming Mkitaryan for the loss by any means, it was just an observation based on what's happened on his career, all very good delivering when you're playing an avergae team, much harded when you're playing a top side who won't give you time on the ball and have quality all over the pitch.
We were overrun yesterday, partly that due to players not working hard enough, obviously the lack of quality in defence and in CM was another issue, but for me Mkhitaryan doesn't need to adapt, he's been playing in this league for a while now and should realise how big a game it was, the fact he didn't really do anything was disappointing as well.
Don't get me wrong, the defeat was 100% down to Wenger for me, but I'm jst wondering if it was wise to have two players like Ozil and Mkhitaryan in the same team when playing a top side.
For me Lacazette in the 10 mins he was on showed plenty of good movement, I know he missed a good chance but he looked sharped and once he gets a goal and gets a run his confidence will return, he definitely helps our play IMO and I'd play him in the 1st 11 with Aubameyang.
The whole team were pretty anonymous to be honest, we know it's Wenger but the fact noone could stand up and be counted either (including Wilshere that everyone wants as captain) was disappointing, Wenger is Wenger and is a major problem, but in the old days we had players who would turn up despite Wenger, it seems these days we don't really.
Spurs have won 6 of the last 9 Derby games against Arsenal, with 2 draws and only one win for the Gunners.
Be careful what you wish for :lol:
1 game isn't enough to be honest, Aubameyang is a forward and will need service so obviously without that he won't do a lot on the whole, however it's down to the midfield to create and work, we know Ozil won't, is Mkhitaryan another player who won't?Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
People can say what they like about Lacazette, but he does work hard and does try to make things happen which is more difficult as a striker. The way Spurs overpowered us was embarrassing, but clearly they're far superior to us, they're a proper team with quality in the right areas.
We could do worse than the try and sign Alderweireld (isn't his contract almost up) as he's quality.
True. it's how we bounce back in the next game that matters. Or the game after that if the bounce is a bit delayed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dumbledore
There's no way those players weren't aware of what a London derby means to the fans. There's no way they didn't work, the stats will bear all that out I'm sure. And that's where Wenger will get his solace from, oh look, we ran as far as them, made as many passes as them. First thing he said yesterday, possession was 50/50 as if some great achievement had been secured or somehow this meaningless statistic indicated parity between the clubs. But he's delusional of course.Quote:
Originally Posted by Özim
The players collapse in games like this because the opposition manager knows precisely how to shut down our pitter-patter game. A little bit of pressing, don't give us time, don't give space at the back, and bypass the static midfield with a quick pass. It's so simple. Wenger sets up the same way for every opponent. He may change the players, may move them around a bit or even fuck around with a back three or a back four. But the principle is always the same. Pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass... slow it down, retain possession, don't lose the ball, play it safe. And walk it into the net if the opportunity arises. Don't waste possession with snap shots or long shots or speculative balls forward - you can see he looks pissed when we do that, even though we end up giving it away anyway on the 368th pitter-pat pass in front of the defence or the bollocks cross that always hits the first defender.
This is why we can't win and can't even put in a performance against teams that are set up to shut us down. And when those teams also have effective players we get a hiding. If the managers were swapped yesterday then Arsenal would have thrashed the spuds. Thrashed them.
I feel the reason we lost yesterday was the same reason Lacazette missed those two chances at the end
Poor mentality
I don’t necessarily buy into this idea that we should have gone for the jugular with our team selection. I did state that I wished Lacazette and Aubemeyang to start before the game but you think of all the times we have gone for it away from home and been picked off on the counter, it rather nullifies the idea that if we can’t defend we might as well attack especially especially as we lack the midfield presence to impose ourselves on the game and in reality we haven’t really had it that convincingly since Vieira left.
The first half wasn’t terrible, I think playing Ozil on the wings didn’t work and certainly didn’t offer us defensive solidity as Bellerin had to deal with Davies and Son by himself (and actually he did it quite well). Mhkytarians final balls were a let down but we kept our shape well and did look dangerous on the counter attack even if the execution was off
Although with that I do take on board that we didn’t press them at all on the ball, not our attacking players, not Xhaka and not Elneny.
The goal went in after half time, and it was just pandemonium. Why?. Why did we panic so much and lose our heads and our shape. Partly because the players have absolutely no confidence, partly because there’s no gameplan mid game. There’s no “if we go 1-0 down we will keep our heads but do x, y and z differently”.
That’s the real negative judgement on Wenger.
Is Kane really miles better than Aubemeyang, Eriksen better than Ozil, Son better than Mhkytarian. Eric Dier and Dembele on their day are better than Elneny and Xhaka but Dier is also just as much of a fuck up.
Don’t get me wrong we do need far better midfielders, but that wasn’t why we lost yesterday.
One man is the reason we lost and the same man is the reason we lost 14 of 26 away games
Wenger is a scared old man, afraid of the future and haunted by his past. His past, as it will be revealed what a clusterfuck he was in reality, how he lucked upon a golden age of players and milked its genesis as his own making, players who could have accomplished so much more if he wasnt such a charlatan.
He fears the future because he is afraid what will happen if he leaves after being unsuccessful for so long and if someone else takes over and the clubs fortunes immediately improve. What will be said about him? What will he do?. So he grimly hangs on in a prison of his own making, shackling the aspirations of hundreds of millions of fans along with him. Even to make a change , a little change, allow someone else to coach, to suggest a new strategy, will be to lose what he cherises most...power and adulation.
His will be remembered as a bloodless coup, the most successful and complete in sports history with the complicit cooperation of the dunces on the board during the final years of PHW`s reign.
Come on let’s stop with this trying to rewrite history just because Wenger should have gone years agoQuote:
Originally Posted by Globalgunner
You don’t win three premier league titles by dumb luck, just as in the same way you don’t lose 14 games from 26 on the road just as a result of bad luck.
It’s daft to suggest he was never a very good manager.
Van Gaal in his day was a better manager than Wenger but at Man United he was terrible, every dog has his day.
A good manager would be able to replicate what brought him success. Realise what it was and build on it. Why has he not won a league since the demise of the invincibles?. He may be a good manager but definitely not a great one. Great managers win great things and do it consistently. He was lucky with his squad of 1996-2004. History proves it.